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Smoky Mountain Brewery (Spring Break 2014, Part 1)

Spring Break 2014 found me camping near Gatlinburg, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains. After spending Spring Break ’13 in the same spot, I knew exactly where to go for local craft beer: Smoky Mountain Brewery & Restaurant.

After hiking five miles around the Smokies, I was ready for a beer…or nine! My nine beer sampler tray:

The line-up:

Mountain Light, an American Pilsner

Velas Helles, a light German-style Lager

Windy Gap Wheat, a light Wheat Ale

Cherokee Red Ale, a flavorful Irish Amber Ale

Black Bear Ale, an English-style Brown Ale

Appalachian Pale Ale, a hoppy Pale Ale

Tuckaleechee Porter, a roasty dark Porter

Capricator Bock, a strong, German-style Dark Lager

Rye IPA, a flavorful and clean-tasting IPA

I also visited the Smoky Mountain Brewery in nearby Pigeon Forge, where they had two beers they didn’t have in Gatlinburg:

Tall Ship IPA, a hoppy British-style IPA

Brown Trout Stout, a smooth Stout

As if I didn’t get enough Smoky Mountain brew at their restaurants, I got a mixed 12-pack to-go. It included one beer in the bottle that they didn’t have on draft: Thunder Road Pilsner, a Bohemian Pilsner.

Other Tennessee bottles sampled at the camp site:

From Blackstone Brewing Company in Nashville, Tennessee

Chaser Pale, a Kölsch

A.P.A., an American-style Pale Ale

Nut Brown Ale

St. Charles Porter

From Yazoo Brewing Company in Nashville, Tennessee

Pale Ale

Dos Perros, a Mexican-style Alt

I also had the latter on draft at the Mellow Mushroom in downtown Gatlinburg, where we had a balcony table overlooking the main strip. I also enjoyed a pint of Loose Caboose Lager from Depot Street Brewing Company in Jonesborough, Tennessee while being entertained by the scene below.

Finally, in honor of my 1,500-mile Spring Break road trip through the heart of Appalachia — eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina — I had a bottle of Road Trip, a Pilsner from SweetWater Brewing Company in Atlanta, Georgia.

Totals for first half of Spring Break ’14: 2 brew pubs, 13 different beers on draft, and 8 different beers in bottles. Not bad, but the best was yet to come in Asheville.